No end to sit-in against travel curbs

The govt has decided to allow border crossing only to people from Pakistan and Afghanistan

QUETTA:

The workers, supporters and traders of All Parties’ Traders Alliance continued their sit-in the border town of Chaman on the second consecutive day on Sunday against the government plan to introduce a new border crossing system through passport and Visa for the people on both sides of the border.

The Pakistan government has decided to allow border crossing only to those people from Pakistan and Afghanistan who will have valid passports and visas from November1. No one would be allowed after October 31, to cross the Pak-Afghan border on Pakistani Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) and Afghan permit (Taskira).

Also read: Pakistan to introduce ‘single-document regime’ for Afghan travelers

However, the leaders of all parties, traders’ organizations and business community, which had formed an alliance, have rejected the government decision taken in the apex committee meeting, held in Quetta last week that from November 1 border crossing would be allowed only on passport and valid visa.

Several thousand people, including political workers, supporters and traders had blocked the main highway linking Quetta with Kandahar on Saturday evening and announced that they will not call off their sit-in until the decision about passport and visa was not taken back.

Read: Traders demand visa-free Afghan travel

The protesters had established camps at the highway and not allowing traffic towards the Pak-Afghan border that struck up large numbers of trucks and other vehicles carrying import and export goods.

However, the border officials allowed Pakistani and Afghan travelers to cross Pak-Afghan on showing Pakistani CNIC and Afghan Taskira.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 23^rd, 2023.